


Fire and Gold (Selective Rewrite)

by Epy



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:40:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25808260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Epy/pseuds/Epy
Summary: First, before anyone gets suspicious, I did get the blessing of the original author of this work to post a rewrite of a scene from their story, so long as I gave credit to the original!Okay. Now that we've covered that, here's a rewrite I did for one of my favorite scenes from the fic "Fire and Gold" by Beatonen. It's a fun fic if you're looking for some bumbleby relationship fluff with a mix of drama. (It also has one of my favorite depictions of Kali "Super Mom" Belladonna ever.)The original story is set somewhere before/during Season 5 (the original fic was written before it was released), except Yang decides to go find Blake in Menagerie.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 13
Kudos: 33





	1. Rain

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Fire and Gold](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10791405) by [Beatonen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beatonen/pseuds/Beatonen). 



> This scene takes place at the beginning of Chapter 5 from the original story. Yang had recently been attacked by a group of Faunus for being in Menagerie (and for being human), but Blake and Ghira came to her rescue. Since then Yang has been recovering from her injuries, while Blake has been dealing with the emotional aftermath. Also at this point in the story, Blake and Yang have already confessed to each other about their feelings.

Rain was rare in Menagerie this time of year. The dry season usually meant weeks straight of cloudless skies and sunshine. Yet this morning Blake found herself curled up on the seat of the living room’s padded windowsill, staring out into the blue-gray haze of another downpour. Aside from the steady beat of raindrops on the rooftop and the windowpane, the house was silent. 

The only stirring Blake had encountered so far this morning was from her mother. Kali was an early riser by nature, but Blake wasn’t, and the surprise on her mother’s face as she walked into the living room was apparent. But she said nothing, instead greeting her daughter with a silent hug and a soft kiss to the top of her head before disappearing into the kitchen. 

Blake was left alone with her thoughts for a while after that.

It was the sound of footsteps from the hallway that eventually broke the silence. Blake glanced over, and Yang was there, resting a moment in the doorway.

Violet eyes met hers. Yang smiled. Blake’s heart thudded along with the rain on the window beside her.

“Hey,” Yang called softly before crossing the room.

“Hi,” Blake replied quietly, her brow furrowing in concern. “Why are you up? It’s still early…you should be resting.”

Yang noticed her pause and gave her a pointed look. “I’ve done nothing but sleep since yesterday,” she answered, and then shrugged. “I got restless.” Blake noticed how Yang’s eyes lingered on her before she quickly glanced to the space left on the windowsill. “Can I sit with you?”

Blake glanced down and, realizing there wasn’t enough room, pulled her knees to her chest to try and make more. It didn’t help much.

“I don’t think we’ll both fit,” Blake mumbled as she shifted again, but stopped when a hand rested on her knee.

“Of course we can fit,” Yang said with a glint of mischief in her eyes. “We just have to squish a little!” And without giving Blake time to respond, Yang turned around and sat down right between her legs. Blake heard her grunt quietly.

“I’m gonna have to lean on you. My ribs are killing me,” Yang explained before leaning back into Blake’s chest. The whole thing caught Blake by surprise, but after a moment of adjustment she began to settle into her new position. Yang’s strong arms rested on her thighs like she was in an armchair and her legs extended past Blake’s far enough to brush her toes against the wall. The blonde’s head was tucked under her chin, so Blake let herself rest amongst the long, golden waves. Yang was right; they did fit. Still, the grunt she’d heard worried her.

“Are you okay? Does it hurt?” Blake asked softly, waiting for Yang’s answer. She didn’t immediately reply, and instead Blake saw her wave her hand nonchalantly out in front of them.

“Told you it could be done,” Yang declared in victory before tilting her head up and to the side to flash a triumphant grin at Blake. Blake huffed, slightly annoyed by the obvious deflection, but then she smiled despite herself. Contentment washed over her, and she slid her fingers through soft blonde hair and massaged Yang’s scalp. She heard a soft sigh from her partner at her touch and felt her body relax further against her own.

They were still for a while after that. Yang sat comfortably against Blake, while Blake looked back outside. The rain had lightened slightly and she could see water dripping off nearby palm fronds into puddles in the muddy earth. Each drop caused a ripple that spread out and crossed paths with others, creating intricate, unique patterns that lasted for a second before transforming into new ones the next. It was almost hypnotic. Blake closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall, her fingers continuing to absentmindedly massage Yang’s scalp.

She felt Yang shift beneath her and she looked down to meet curious violet eyes.

“Do you like the rain?” Yang asked in a hushed tone, as if not to startle her. Blake kept her gaze for a moment before glancing back outside.

“I don’t really like it when I’m outside,” she explained, “but I like the sounds, and the smells. And I like when a cool wind blows by with it.”

“Why do you like it though? I mean, it’s just rain,” Yang asked again with a shrug. Blake thought for a second before reaching to unlock the window. She pushed it open, and as if called by her description, a cool breeze greeted them that made them both shiver.

“Close your eyes,” Blake ordered gently as she looked back down. Yang smiled and chuckled quietly, but did as she was told. Blake kept her eyes on the soft features of her face, and as she let the sounds around them fill her ears, she smiled too.

“Can you hear the sound of the rain on the roof?”

Yang snorted, raising one eyebrow but keeping her eyes closed. “Of course I can.”

Blake rolled her eyes at the snarky response. “But can you _only_ hear the rain on the roof?” she asked again.

She watched as Yang’s eyebrows scrunched in concentration, creating an adorable crinkle between them. After a moment’s pause, Yang nodded.

“I can hear it.”

“Okay. Now can you hear the drops on the puddle outside?”

Yang nodded again. Blake closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Can you smell the mud? The damp wood of the porch? The plants?”

There was silence, and when Blake opened her eyes again she saw Yang staring up at her with a soft smile on her lips.

“I think I’m starting to understand why you like rain,” Yang whispered before closing her eyes again. She took a few deep breaths of her own before nodding. “I can smell the mud and the wood, but I can’t quite get the plants. They may be too far away for me.”

Blake hummed, her left hand sliding down Yang’s arm to entwine their fingers.

“Can you feel the breeze on your skin?” she murmured. The fingertips of her free hand brushed gently over Yang’s right shoulder. Goosebumps formed on her partner’s exposed skin and Blake briefly wondered if they were only caused by the wind.

“I can,” Yang answered, and Blake caught the waver in her voice before she cleared her throat quietly. Blake smiled and leaned down so that her lips were level with Yang’s ear.

“Now, mix it all together,” Blake whispered. She felt the fingers laced with hers twitch slightly, and Blake leaned back to let Yang concentrate. Meanwhile, Blake let herself sink further into the quiet moment and rested her cheek on top of the blonde mane. She closed her eyes and let the same sounds, smells, and feelings wash over her too, grateful that she could share them this way with her partner. A few more silent moments passed before she felt Yang squeeze her fingers gently.

“I can do it,” Yang murmured, her voice noticeably distant.

“And how does it make you feel?”

“…Calm. It’s soothing, you know?”

Blake chuckled softly, nuzzling into her blonde hair.

“I do. And that’s why I like the rain.”

Yang’s right hand reached up and gently grasped Blake’s before she guided both of her arms to drape across her shoulders, their hands still entwined. The rain continued on. Blake was content.

A moment of peace for both of them.

After a while Yang shifted, but she grunted as she did and stopped, the sound low and quiet as she tried to be discreet. It still caught Blake’s attention instantly.

“Yang,” she said, worry scrunching her face as she tried to find Yang’s eyes. Yang turned away slightly, and Blake couldn’t tell if it was part of what she’d meant to do before or if she was purposely avoiding her gaze.

“I’m alright Blake. It’s just, I guess I’m a little sore,” Yang laughed quietly, releasing her hands to finish her shift. “I wasn’t lying when I said everything hurts.”

Blake hummed, not fully satisfied by the answer but choosing not to push. Instead she tried to support Yang’s weight as best she could to compensate. Eventually they both managed to settle again, and Blake brushed her fingers over the blonde’s forehead. Her touch was soft, but Yang still flinched. Blake frowned at the reaction.

“How’s your head?” she asked. Yang’s prosthetic hand grabbed hers, the metal cold from the cool air blowing in from outside, and pulled her away from the cut.

“Blake, just…I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not,” Blake countered, angling her head so she could look down at her. “You’re hurt and–”

“And I don’t want to talk about it, okay?” Yang interrupted. “Can we just…talk about the rain again?”

Blake hated how she could feel Yang’s hand trembling in hers. She was used to steadfast strength resting beneath a comforting surface whenever they happened to hold hands before. But in this moment it was all gone, so Blake held Yang’s hand tighter to give some of that strength and comfort back.

“Okay,” she murmured. Blake nuzzled back into Yang’s hair. “But I don’t know what else to say about the rain.”

“Then tell me about something else you like.”

“What, you don’t know?” Blake teased, kissing the top of her head gently.

“Yeah, well, besides books, rain, tea, and me, not really,” Yang replied, looking up with a small smile and a wink. “You kept to yourself a lot back at Beacon.”

Blake grimaced and looked back outside. It took a moment for her to answer, but Yang didn’t seem to mind as Blake felt her hand slip away to toy with a lock of her dark hair.

“I think,” Blake began, pausing, “and I know this is going to sound very cliché so don’t make fun of me, but I think the thing I like most is…” Blake felt a blush creep to her cheeks. “Um, it’s your laugh.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Blake saw Yang shift to stare up at her.

“Really?” Yang asked. In place of the teasing tone she expected, Blake heard softness, and she glanced down fully into violet eyes. They stared back with wonder. “Why?”

Blake fidgeted, biting her lip and looking away as she tried to find the right words. “It’s, um…you know, one of the things I like about you is that you’re always true to yourself, and you don’t care if you get loud when you tell a story or a joke. You’re just having a good time, and it shows when you laugh.” Blake felt like she was rambling. “When you laugh, it’s…you always laugh without holding back, and every time I hear you laugh it makes me happy and I smile like an idiot because I think it’s the most gorgeous thing in the world.”

She was definitely rambling. Blake cleared her throat, fidgeting again, still feeling Yang staring up at her as the words sank in.

“That is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Blake straightened up at the new voice, her ears perking up in surprise and her cheeks flaring with heat. She shot an accusatory look toward the kitchen doorway as her ears flattened.

“Mom! What happened to privacy?” Blake hissed, stubbornly avoiding the lilac eyes under her. Kali popped her head into view with a small grin.

“I’m really sorry,” she said, not looking sorry at all. “I couldn’t help overhearing that, and _Dust_ I cannot believe I thought you were straight all this time.”

The fire in Blake’s cheeks shot through her entire body by sheer force of embarrassment. Meanwhile, Yang let out a roar of a laugh that shook both of them and made Kali’s grin turn frustratingly cheeky before she shot a wink at her daughter and disappeared.

“Have I ever told you how much I love your Mom?” Yang wheezed between laughs. Blake glared down at her.

“Shut up.”


	2. Midnight Snack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This scene is from Chapter 9 of the original story. Don't need much background for this one, other than what's already been provided in the previous chapter notes (Yang was in the process of recovery).

Blake rolled onto her side in her sleep and reached into the space beside her for a familiar warmth to cuddle. When it wasn’t found, she searched farther into the cooler sheets until the empty spot finally registered in her subconscious. Just as Blake blinked open her eyes, she heard a thud, followed by a string of hushed curses. Blake looked back over her shoulder and spotted Yang kneeling on the ground with her foot in her hands and her teeth gritted.

“Yang?” Blake called softly, propping herself up on her elbow. Yang’s head shot up mid-grimace and she froze. “What are you doing?”

Yang turned in her direction, though not quite enough to make direct eye contact, and her shoulders sagged.

“Crap, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Yang whispered in a rush. “I just wanted to sneak a snack from the kitchen but I bumped my toe on…” Yang looked around with narrowed eyes, clearly not noticing the chair to her left in the dark. “…something.” Blake watched in amusement as Yang randomly searched the floor around her until she found a chair leg. Yang frowned in annoyance at it before using the now found chair to get back to her feet. 

“Don’t you have street lights here? I can’t see past my nose,” Yang grumbled.

Blake could have helped her. It would have been the nice thing to do. Instead, she enjoyed the sight of Yang over-cautiously scooting along the wall in what she assumed was an attempt to find the door.

“Why would we need street lights?” Blake asked, purposeful innocence coloring her tone. Yang turned in her direction, but again not enough to actually make eye contact.

“Uh, duh?” Yang answered with a wave of her hand into the darkness. “Because?”

Blake held back a snort and decided to drop the innocent act. “We don’t need streetlights.”

“What?”

Blake sat at the edge of the bed expectantly while Yang shot an annoyed and confused expression into the open air. It took a moment, but eventually realization dawned on her face.

“Oh. Right.” Yang sighed in defeat. “You can see in the dark. Look, I’m barely awake and I’m starving, so can you please stop torturing me like I know you are?”

Blake giggled, stood and stretched, and made her way over to Yang. “You can’t see at all?” Blake asked, a yawn forcing its way out on the last word.

“Kinda hard to with no moon,” Yang explained, and as Blake glanced outside she finally noticed dark, heavy clouds were blocking the majority of the night sky, save for a few patches of stars. For a moment she feared another storm was coming, but the worry quickly vanished when she heard the loud growl of Yang’s stomach. Yang smiled sheepishly.

“Come on,” Blake said with a soft chuckle as she took Yang’s hand. “I’ll be your eyes.”

Guiding a practically blind Yang down the hall to the kitchen proved a bit more challenging than Blake anticipated. She had to course-correct a few times, and then had to stop Yang from reaching out for the wall so she wouldn’t knock down any pictures. This, in turn, meant Yang had to lean more heavily into Blake for guidance. Neither of them seemed to mind that part, but of course, right as they got to the kitchen doorway, Blake underestimated how much space they needed. Yang’s left shoulder bumped right into the wooden frame with a soft, solid thud.

“Sorry,” Blake apologized, poorly covering up her snickering as they finally made it into the kitchen.

“I’m never letting you drive,” Yang mumbled as she rubbed her shoulder. Blake didn’t miss the smile she was trying to hide. “Even when you _can_ see, you drive like you’re drunk.”

“First of all,” Blake responded, “I’m not driving, I’m guiding you. And second…” Blake stepped around so she was standing in front of Yang, their free hands held between them. “If I kiss the pain away, will you stop complaining?”

Yang snorted. Blake didn’t wait for a reply, knowing she didn’t really need to, and leaned close to gently kiss her shoulder. She let her lips linger there as Yang let out a breath.

“So…if you make me run face-first into a door, will you kiss that pain away too?”

Blake chuckled against Yang’s skin, and as she looked up she noticed Yang swallow. There was a strange comfort in knowing she wasn’t the only one who was nervous right now. It made her feel bolder.

“You don’t need to hurt your face for me to do that,” Blake whispered as her lips traveled from Yang’s shoulder to her neck. Yang inhaled sharply as Blake’s lips found her pulse, and the reaction emboldened Blake even further. She pressed forward, using her body to guide Yang’s until she was backed into the kitchen island. Satisfied with the new position, Blake return her focus to Yang’s neck and slowly grazed her teeth downward. In the darkness, Yang gasped, reaching out to grab her hips and pull her closer.

“We talked about my face, but my neck is okay too,” Yang sighed. “ _So_ okay.”

Blake laughed against her skin, and it sounded like a purr even to her. “You like that?” she asked, looking up with half-lidded eyes. Yang looked down in her direction with a smirk.

“Who wouldn’t?” Yang responded with far too much smug composure for Blake’s liking, so she left Yang’s neck in favor of wiping that smirk off her face with a kiss. Blake’s hands began to wander, the left snaking up behind Yang’s neck while the right settled on her hip, her fingers toying with the hem of the orange tank top. Suddenly, Yang grazed her teeth against Blake’s bottom lip, and Blake pulled back abruptly with heavy breaths and her heart hammering in her chest.

“You okay?” Yang asked, her left hand blindly reaching up to cup her cheek. Blake looked up and saw the worried crease in her brow.

“Y-Yes, it’s just…” Blake swallowed. “Don’t bite.”

Blake felt Yang’s hand stiffen against her cheek. “Oh. Oh, okay, I’m sorry, I won’t do it aga-”

“It’s not because I don’t like it,” Blake interrupted quickly to explain, and she was grateful for the darkness hiding the rising heat in her cheeks. “It’s, um, the opposite, actually. I _really_ like it.”

Yang blinked once, twice, and then her eyebrows shot up.

“ _Oh._ ”

Then, a smile full of mischief pulled Yang’s lips as she leaned closer to brush them against Blake’s human ear.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she purred, and Blake felt a shiver run down her spine. Yang shifted to slowly trail kisses down her neck, and as Blake closed her eyes she felt the cool touch of Yang’s prosthetic thumb under her chin, gently tilting her head to expose more skin. With her eyes closed, Blake relished every other sensation: The press of Yang’s lips against her pulse. The smell of her hair as it brushed against her cheek. The way Yang tasted when she pulled back to kiss her deeply. It was already so much, and yet Blake wanted more. As Yang’s hand drifted down her right side to settle on her hip, Blake slipped her own hand under the fabric of Yang’s tank top. Her palm slid across taught stomach muscles, causing Yang to gasp and Blake to grin.

“I’ve wanted to do this for a while,” Blake whispered, tracing the defined abs beneath her fingertips. Yang hummed as her grip on Blake’s hip tightened slightly.

“I’ve been thinking,” Yang murmured against Blake’s skin, stalling near her collarbone. “If I just, you know, graze my teeth, that’s not a bite, right?”

“Yang-”

The warning was cut off by an involuntary gasp when Blake felt just the slightest graze of teeth against her collarbone. Blake’s fingers curled in Yang’s hair and against her stomach in reflex, her nails raking her skin. Yang hummed in surprise.

“Holy shit Blake,” Yang teased quietly. “You really _do_ like it.”

Blake didn’t bother answering. Her lips crashed into Yang’s with a surge of heated force, and she could feel Yang smiling against her lips. Blake continued to explore under Yang’s shirt, feeling every inch of skin, savoring each and every detail. When her fingers bumped against the bottom of Yang’s sports bra, however, she could immediately feel the shift in the energy between them. With little more warning than that, Blake suddenly felt herself lifted up, her ass now resting on one strong arm, and she yelped in surprise.

“Yang! The doctor said-”

“It’s not lifting when you weigh nothing,” Yang countered as she stepped across the kitchen, holding Blake firmly in her arms. Soon—far too soon in Blake’s opinion—she was placed down, somewhat impatiently, on the countertop near the sink.

_**CLANG!** _

Blake’s ears instinctually folded back at the loud, metallic clatter right next to them. Both women froze for a breath of a moment before Yang started to snicker softly. Blake shushed her and listened, her ears perking back up as she waited…

Nothing. Aside from their panted breaths, there was no other sound in the house. Finally returning her attention to Yang, Blake saw her smile widely, and a strange giddiness rose inside her too. They started giggling, and Blake pulled Yang back into a kiss, her legs looping around Yang’s waist to hold her tightly. She felt the rough, large palm of Yang’s hand slip under her own shirt as her lips left to wander down Blake’s neck with just a hint of teeth.

Blake’s eyes closed again. It took every ounce of her remaining willpower not to pull Yang’s hair. Instead, she grabbed the edge of the counter with one hand while the other clutched the back of Yang’s tank top. Her mouth was still wandering downward, passing her collarbone, and Blake’s breath caught in her throat when she felt Yang gently pull the collar of her shirt lower. Those warm lips started the curve of her breast just as a palm came up to cup the other, and Blake’s body became a livewire. Her hands gripped the counter and Yang’s shirt tighter. All she wanted was to feel more of Yang’s touch.

Until someone cleared their throat.

Blake froze. Her eyes opened wide as Yang jumped, pulling away, leaving Blake’s legs to dangle freely off the edge of the counter. The kitchen lights flicked on, forcing Blake to blink back into focus. Once she did, she slowly looked to the kitchen doorway, noting the expression of utmost horror on Yang’s face on the way.

“And here I thought we were getting robbed, or worse, what with all the White Fang talk lately.”

“M-Mom,” Blake stuttered, quickly pulling her shirt back into place.

“But no,” Kali continued as she walked into the kitchen, leaning a baseball bat against a nearby chair before falling into it herself. “It’s just my daughter and her girlfriend about to have sex in my kitchen.” She ran a hand through her disheveled hair, looking up at her daughter as Blake climbed down from the counter with her arms held tightly against her chest. Kali sighed with a mixture of exasperation and exhaustion. “Why the kitchen? You have a bedroom right down the hall. What are you even doing in the kitchen at this hour?”

“It’s, um,” Yang spoke up, “I-I was hungry. Wanted something to eat but, well…I guess it got a little out of hand.”

Kali stared, then snorted, then hid her face in her hands as cackles began to shake her shoulders. Blake saw Yang look over at her with a worried expression.

“Oh, goodness, I’m tired,” the older woman finally managed through her laughter. “I was going to say, you-” Kali cackled again, this time fighting to control her breathing long enough to finish her sentence. “You were about to eat _something_ alright!”

Blake’s face flared in a fierce blush as her mother resumed her borderline delirious laughing, and as she glanced at Yang she saw her staring at her mother with a mixture of amusement and concern. Yang looked over at her and flashed a crooked smile.

“I told you I liked your mother, right?”

Blake narrowed her eyes and swatted her arm. “Don’t encourage her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was it a bit of a guilty pleasure to rewrite this? Maybe. Maybe I just wanted more of Best Mom being best mom. You'll never know.


End file.
